March 14 War Notes Updates:
About Time– Pope Francis Speaks Out:
AP: VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has decried the “barbarianism” of the killing of children and other defenseless civilians in Ukraine and pleaded for a stop to the attacks “before cities are reduced to cemeteries.”
In some of his strongest denunciations yet of the war in Ukraine, and in apparent reference to Russia, which invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, the pontiff said that “there are no strategic reasons that hold up” in the face of such armed aggression.
Francis told about 25,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his customary Sunday noon appearance that Mariupol, the southern Ukrainian city which “bears the name” of the Virgin Mary, has “become a city martyred by the heartbreaking war that is devastating Ukraine.”
“In the name of God, I ask: ‘Stop this massacre,’” Francis said, sparking applause from the pilgrims, tourists and Romans, some of whom held Ukrainian flags, in the square.
Francis prayed for an end of the bombings and other attacks and for ensuring that humanitarian corridors “are safe and secure.”
Chernobyl: More Trouble
AP: Ukraine says it has restored a broken power line to the Chernobyl power plant, the scene of a nuclear meltdown in 1986, which is held by Russian troops.
Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said that “heroes” from the national power grid company managed to restore the connection. The power is used to run pumps which keep spent nuclear fuel cool to prevent radiation leaks.
Ukraine said Wednesday that power had been cut to the site and that there was enough diesel fuel to run on-site generators for 48 hours. The International Atomic Energy Agency played down concerns, saying it saw little risk of the pools containing the spent fuel overheating even without electricity.
Belarus said Thursday it had set up an emergency power line to Chernobyl from its nearby border.
Pro-Russian auto Rally in Serbia
BELGRADE, Serbia — AP: Dozens of cars drove through the Serbian capital of Belgrade on Sunday in support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The occupants waved Russian and Serbian flags, honked horns and chanted pro-Putin slogans. Some cars had the letter Z painted on them — a symbol of support for the Russian president.
The protest was organized by a small far-right group.
Serbia has refused to join international sanctions against its ally Russia despite formally seeking EU membership and voting in favor of the U.N. resolution condemning Moscow’s aggression.
Serbia’s dominant state-controlled media are daily carrying Moscow’s war propaganda, creating a strong pro-Putin mood among Serbia’s ultranationalists and far-right groups.
Pro-Ukraine Rally in Cyprus
LIMASSOL, Cyprus, AP— Dozens of Russian nationals joined Ukrainians in the coastal resort town of Limassol, home to a sizeable Russian expatriate community, to protest the war in Ukraine.
About 50 Russians converged on Limassol’s promenade prior to joining with other protesters Sunday to chant slogans including “Stop the war, stop Putin” and “Russia without Putin.” They waved blue and white flags that they said were the Russian national flag without the red stripe that represented “blood and violence.”
Protester Evgeniya Shlykova, who has been living and working in Cyprus for five years, told The Associated Press that despite Russian propaganda, Ukraine “didn’t deserve this action from our government” and that protesters are demanding an immediate end to the war “that we don’t support.”
“I do believe that the person who did the most to make Russia weak and not united is Putin himself,” said Shlykova, who faulted the Russian president and his supporters for bringing the world’s wrath on Russia that is proud of its humanistic values and culture.
“But now Russia is the aggressor for the whole world, and we protest it,” Shlykova said.
Turks Want Help to Evacuate Ukraine Mosque
AP: ANTALYA, Turkey— Turkey’s foreign minister says his country is trying to evacuate Turkish citizens who were sheltering in a mosque in Mariupol.
Russian shells hit near the Sultan Suleiman Mosque Saturday. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the mosque had not been damaged and they had made contact with the Turkish nationals through satellite phones. He did not specify the number of people sheltering there. The Ukrainian Embassy in Ankara said Saturday 89 Turks, including 34 children, were at the mosque.
The minister said he spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, to ask for his support for a humanitarian evacuation corridor in Mariupol. Buses were ready for their evacuation Saturday but had not been able to enter the city because of clashes. Efforts continued Sunday.
Cavusoglu said 489 Turkish citizens had been evacuated Saturday from places where clashes continued, including Kherson and Kharkiv.
Ukrainian Refugee Returning: “That’s my home”
AP: ZAHONY, Hungary — Klara Uliganich is returning home to Ukraine after spending nearly three weeks in Hungary as a refugee.
The pensioner says she will go back to her home in Uzhhorod, a city in western Ukraine.
“I got a feeling, it’s hard to put it into words,” she said of her decision while waiting at the railway station in the Hungarian border town of Zahony. “I was born there, that’s my home.”
Her family didn’t want her to return, but she said she was determined to go back.
“I can’t live my life shaking in fear just because the Russians are coming,” she said. “If they come, I’ll be a refugee again, that’s it.”
Hungary, a country of around 10 million people, has taken in around 235,000 refugees from Ukraine as of Saturday, the second-highest number of any other country after Poland, which has received more than 1.5 million refugees.
Top Ukraine Tennis Pro Heading Back Home
AP: Sergiy Stakhovskyis a recently retired professional tennis player from Ukraine who has left his wife and three young children at home in Hungary to go back to his birthplace to help how he can during Russia’s invasion.
Stakhovsky said in a video interview with the AP that he would never have imagined he would be in his home city with a gun in his hands.
He earned more than $5 million in prize money in tennis and upset Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2013. Stakhovsky’s last match came in Australian Open qualifying in January.
Russia began attacking Ukraine on Feb. 24, and a few days later, he arrived in Kyiv.
Most unwelcome headline–
Washington Post:
Last Wednesday in Mariupol, a maternity hospital was hit by Russian bombs and artillery. This woman was evacuated, but soon died. Her name has not been released.
Thank you for this information … hadn’t seen most of this from my usual news sources .
I was looking for items that were not at the top of the headlines.